She is the Rising Sun

As Thanksgiving approaches, it's hard to express how thankful I am for the family that we'd hoped and prayed for, for so very long. We are truly blessed.

Music has played an important part of my life. I remember my mom playing guitar when we were young. I grew up playing trumpet, and in the last few years picked up guitar and found a new home playing with our church band. There's an indescribeable feeling that comes with playing as part of a team. I'm not much of a sports player, but I imagine it's similar to the feeling of playing on a winning sports team. You have a role that only you can play. And when it all comes together and everyone plays their part, it's like magic. Now that we've moved on, my guitar playing consists of entertaining Sam, which is still quite rewarding - just in a Dad sort of way, seeing a little guy watch me strum "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as I encourage him to sing along.

Even more than playing music, I enjoy listening to music. Discovering a new artist or a new CD that surpasses expectations is a treasure. It was incredibly rewarding a few months ago when I ran across "The Ill-Tempered Klavier" by Ben Shive. "The ill-tempered what?" you ask. I don't know, I haven't figured out that title yet. That's part of the beauty of this CD. Ben doesn't lay it all out for you. But his music is beautiful and it makes me think. And tonight, as I heard "She is the Rising Sun," I thought of my beautiful wife and our beautiful family and how thankful I am that we have each other. Here are the lyrics:

She is the Rising Sun
Ben Shive

I would say that I was lost in space
Shivering stone in a lonely sky
I was sinking in my silent grave
And I was drowning in the dark
Until she woke me with her light

She is bright as the morning
Fair as the evening wanes
There is warmth in her fingers
Light on her lovely face

She is the sun
She is the rising sun

And there's a hole in the pocket of the midnight blue
And I am slipping through like a lucky dime
And I'm running like a boy in brand new shoes
And when I'm flying by Orion, she is shining in my mind

She is on my horizon
Rising to wake the dawning day
She is drawing me homeward
Driving my tears away

We are dancing in orbit
Marking a season's turn
And though I cast her reflection
She is the fire that burns

She is bright as the morning
Fair as the evening wanes
There is warmth in her fingers
Light on her lovely face

She is the sun
She is the rising sun

Happy Thanksgiving to my rising suns.